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Netherlands: Cornald Maas Almost Resigned Amid Netherlands’ Eurovision 2023 Controversy

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Cornald Maas, revealed that the controversy surrounding the Netherlands’ Eurovision 2023 entry nearly pushed him to step down from his role.

The controversy revolved around the Netherlands’ choice of Mia Nicolai and Dion Cooper for Eurovision 2023, particularly their live performances of their song “Burning Daylight” at pre-parties leading up to the competition. These performances faced intense criticism and even ridicule within the Dutch media.

Speaking on the NPO radio program ‘Mischa!’ earlier this week, Maas expressed how the relentless criticism by Dutch media of Mia & Dion had a lasting and detrimental impact on him and those close to him. Despite these challenges, Maas ultimately decided to remain part of the Dutch Eurovision team, as Eurovision has a special place in his heart.

Even though the song was revamped to help the artists better perform it, “Burning Daylight” did not advance to the Grand Final of Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool, marking the first Dutch entry not to qualify since 2015.

Maas says that the criticism by local media affected even his family. He also added:

“It was not over in a day or a week. There were so many untruths that were debated. In consultation with AVROTROS, I did not respond to this so that the oil slick would not get bigger. That went against my character and my nature.”

Affected by this controversy was also Eurovision 2019 winner Duncan Laurence, who was one of the writers of the entry and was appointed to train the artists for the Eurovision stage.

After the end of Eurovision 2023, AVROTROS acknowledged that mistakes were made in selecting “Burning Daylight” for Eurovision 2023. Consequently, there have been changes within the Dutch Eurovision team, with Twan van de Nieuwenhuijze appointed as the Head of Delegation for the Netherlands and the new chairman of the selection committee.

The Netherlands will select its entry internally for Eurovision 2024 and Cornald Maas remains as part of the selecting jury.

Source: RTL Boulevard

 

 

The Netherlands: Daniël Dekker critiques AVROTROS and the selection process for Eurovision 2023!

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Daniël Dekker, radio presenter and former member of the Dutch selection committee for Eurovision, spoke to Story magazine and critiqued AVROTROS for the Dutch Eurovision 2023 entry!

The radio presenter was part of the selection committee that brought great results for The Netherlands over the last decade, including a victory in 2019. He is not a part of the jury ever since, and he expressed his disappointment with the selection of Mia & Dion by the broadcaster for Eurovision 2023.

“In my time, it would have been unthinkable that those same artists would only perform at a pre-party, like in Barcelona, for the first time. We knew that artists as Anouk, Waylon, Ilse DeLange and Trijntje Oosterhuis could sing. But you also want to hear them perform the song. And with Duncan, who was less known to us, I went into the studio. Ilse, who mentored him, was there too. When I heard him sing “Arcade”, I knew that it was good. More than good.”

Mia & Dion was the first Dutch act that failed to qualify in almost a decade. Daniël expressed his disappointment by the way they were treated by local media, stating that no other artist in the future should have to deal with such media coverage.

Despite AVROTROS’s efforts to work on vocal problems that Mia & Dion faced, even having the former winner and composer of “Burning Daylight,” Duncan Laurence as their mentor, Mia and Dion failed to secure a ticket to the Grand Final, finishing in 13th place in the first semi-final with only seven points. Moreover, the country’s non-qualification also had an impact on viewership, marking a significant decline compared to 2022.

A selection method for the Eurovision 2024 entry is yet to be decided, while the return of a national final to select the Dutch entry will be discussed, with many people including commentator Cornald Maas being against this selection process.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XAsam043OY

Source: Story

Eurovision 2023: The Netherlands’ Second Rehearsal!

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Second to last act to come up on the stage are Mia Nicolai & Dion Cooper from Netherlands with their balad “Burning Daylight”.

Who are Mia & Dion?

Mia Nicolai is 26 years old and she grew up with music. She has been taking violin and piano lessons since the age of three and received a very creative upbringing from her family, with drama, ballet, music and storytelling. After living in London, Melbourne and Mexico, she moved to Los Angeles where she resides permanetley. Her first single titled “Set Me Free” was released in 2020.

Dion Cooper is a 28 year old and he has always dreamed of becoming an artist and making music. He picked up a guitar at the age of fifteen and he has never put it down ever since. In the following years, he began to sing and write his own music and in 2021 released hus first EP called “Too Young Too Dumb” making a million streams on music platforms.

Among the writing team of the song “Burning Daylight” was the Dutch winner of Eurovision 2019 Duncan Laurence. The song made a huge impression on the entire selection jury, being unanimously chosen as the Dutch entry for this year’s Eurovision.

The Rehearsal

Unfortunately this year, accredited journalists don’t get the chance to watch the first and second rehearsals, so we only get the information and content that the organizers officially release to the public.

As we know so far, Mia and Dion are standing on a small revolving stage, it penetrates a beautiful effect as they move around each other against the backdrop of spotlights in the arena. It’s a complex camera set-up that makes the whole performance feel really intimate. There is a harmony on their voices compared to the staging and the outfits that makes that really special and powerful that everyone will have goosebumps.

Netherlands Second Rehearsal 1

Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU

Netherlands Second Rehearsal 2

Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU

Below you can watch a small clip from the Dutch second rehearsal, once it’s published on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XASeTePlkQw

The Dress Rehearsal for Netherlands and the rest of Semi Final 1 will be held on the 8th of May.

Follow us on all social media, so you do not miss a moment of what will happen in Liverpool:

Stay tuned at EurovisionFun for all the latest developments regarding Netherland’s entry in Eurovision 2023!

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The Netherlands: Mia and Dion performed “Burning Daylight” for the first time live on Dutch television!

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Mia and Dion performed “Burning Daylight” for the first time on television.

This year’s representatives of the Netherlands appeared for the first time on Dutch television to perform live the song “Burning Daylight” with which they will represent the Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool in a few days.

You can watch their live TV performance below

The Netherlands competes in the 14th place of the first semi-final on 9 May, claiming one of the ten tickets for the grand final on Saturday 13 May.

Below you can also watch the reaction video of the Eurovision Fun team to the Dutch entry.

Stay tuned on Eurovision Fun for all the news around the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 which starts this Sunday 30 April with the first rehearsals!